Have you ever gone for a walk in nature and instantly felt more refreshed? Or it could be that you’ve gone for a swim in the lake or sea and felt your body physically relax?
Well it seems there is a name for this that not many people are probably aware of. This technique is called grounding. Grounding is more than just ‘touching grass’ – although this can be part of it, but mostly, grounding involves activities that electrically connect you to the earth and it’s natural elements. Science has found that the natural electric charges that the earth emits could have positive effects on the body, including improving muscle damage, chronic pain, chronic fatigue and could be a mood booster.
The central theory behind grounding is that by grounding ourselves to the electric charge of the earth, we are influencing the living matrix, which is the central connector between living cells. It is then believed that through grounding, the natural defenses of the body will be restored, hence improving our immune system amongst other things. There have been studies supporting the use of grounding to heal other aspects of our bodies, including physical and emotional stress and pain and post-exercise muscle damage.
Indigenous societies and cultures have embraced the earth’s healing benefits for decades. An example of this would be “Qi” in Chinese medicine. Pronounced “chee”, Qi refers to the vital energy that fills the universe, and if we fall ill, it could be because our qi is blocked, or we have insufficient level of qi. The idea of the earth’s innate energy began to emerge in the late 19th century in the Western world. Publications like “The New Science of Healing” by Louis Kuhne and “Return to Nature” by Adolf Just, encourage readers to reconnect with nature and use techniques that would later be identified as grounding to heal themselves.
There are many ways in which you can practice grounding. A list of popular and beneficial ways of grounding are walking outside barefoot, lying on the ground and going for a swim in a lake or in the ocean. If practicing grounding outdoors can be a challenge especially if you happen to lead a very busy lifestyle, then don’t worry, because there are ways for you to practice grounding indoors. You could purchase grounding equipment like grounding mats, grounding blankets, grounding patches and more to help you achieve this technique in the comfort of your own home. Other ways to practice grounding indoors is by moving your body, stretching or yoga, and practicing focused breathwork.
Of course, grounding is a mindful practice that has many benefits. Some of its benefits include improving chronic pain and fatigue, anxiety, sleep quality, cardiovascular diseases and immunity. However, do note that if you are experiencing chronic pain, fatigue or anxiety, it would probably be better to seek professional help as there could be other underlying problems that grounding may not be able to assist you with.
It is also important to note that most of the studies investigating grounding often use a small group of participants and subjective methods of collecting data, for example, asking how the participant felt before and after grounding. This is why it’s best to keep in mind that until more large-scale studies are conducted, we can only take these findings with a pinch of salt.
